Seattle Seahawks Training Camp Takeaways: Charles Cross, O-Line Leads Physical Effort

RENTON, Wash. – Though the Seattle Seahawks didn’t set any records for touchdowns in Tuesday’s sixth training camp practice, the offensive line bounced back after getting pushed around a bit in the first padded session, earning coach Mike Macdonald’s victory for the day.

At the center of Seattle’s improved efforts in the trenches, left tackle Charles Cross received the team’s Heavyweight Championship Belt for a stellar afternoon holding his own against Uchenna Nwosu and others off the edge, toting it around after practice over his right shoulder with pride. While Macdonald said the criteria for winning the belt remain everchanging, at the advice of quarterback Geno Smith, the coaches opted to select the third-year lineman after another excellent practice.

“Shoutout to Geno [Smith], the offense won the game and he said give it to an o-linemen and Charles has been having a great camp,” Macdonald smiled. “The belt is something that’s kind of fun, just kind of mix it up and spice it up throughout camp, who’s holding the belt and we can kind of change the criteria of how you challenge it. We’ve got a bunch of them.”

Individually, Cross dominated his pair of reps against standout rusher Uchenna Nwosu during one-on-ones, stymying a bull rush on one snap and following up with a pancake on the defender when he tried to maneuver inside with a speed rip and lost his footing. During a team run period, he helped spring Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet on back-to-back 20-plus yard runs with key blocks on the left side.

With Cross leading the way, Seattle’s offensive line – which included rookie Christian Haynes at left guard in place of a resting Laken Tomlinson – did a better job protecting Smith and Sam Howell all afternoon, giving the quarterbacks adequate time to scan the field and throw the ball after being under frequent pressure on Monday. Macdonald thought all three line groups also improved at creating push at the line of scrimmage in the run game compared to the previous practice.

“I felt movement up front, especially with the second group” Macdonald said when asked what he liked about Seattle’s offensive effort. “That’s the challenge for the second defense to respond to that. We can’t be getting knocked off the ball.”

With their sixth practice now officially in the books, here are four additional takeaways from the VMAC:

With the foundation of their program still built around competition under Macdonald, no position groups have featured better competitions than receiver and cornerback to this point, and the fact they square off against each other on the practice field has only spiced things up further. Specifically, DK Metcalf has been at the center of epic battles against the likes of Riq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon, and Tre Brown, leading to plenty of chirping and even some post-play hostility.

After Metcalf and Woolen got into a heated exchange and had to be separated during Monday’s practice, the two former Pro Bowlers kept getting under each other’s skin, starting in one-on-one drills. Working his way back towards Smith on a curl route, Metcalf looked to have an easy completion, only for Woolen to sneak his left arm in front for a pass breakup while drawing a questionable holding penalty from the on-site official, drawing ire from the defender.

Moments later, Woolen undercut Metcalf on a crossing route and showed off his sub-4.30 speed, reaching in front for another outstanding pass deflection. Overall, the third-year defender got a piece of three passes on Tuesday afternoon and didn’t allow any notable catches, continuing to rebound from a somewhat disappointing sophomore season with a stellar camp.

“I see iron sharpening iron out there when he’s going against the wideouts, especially when he’s on DK,” Macdonald said of Woolen. “Someone that’s on a mission and he’s responded to the coaching and he’s bought in… I don’t want to oversell it right now, but I think you can sense our excitement about him.”

As for Metcalf, even though Woolen got the better of him on several reps, he enjoyed arguably his best day of camp so far. Aside from catching a 30-yard post route, he capped off practice with a highlight reel one-handed touchdown from Smith, somehow managing to break loose from Witherspoon’s tight coverage along the sideline just long enough to snag the ball with his right hand while keeping his feet inbounds.

As typically happens when the pads first come out, Seattle’s defense won the day on Monday in emphatic fashion, dominating at the line of scrimmage and making life tough on Smith and Howell in the pocket, often flushing them out with sticky coverage locking down receivers on the back end. Eager to turn in a better showing in Tuesday’s session, both quarterbacks found a bit of a groove with better protection in front of them and delivered on several long completions.

Continuing to spin the ball effectively to all levels of the field, Smith unleashed a fastball to Metcalf coming open over the middle on a crosser for a long completion after moving his pocket to his left. He later added a pair of well-thrown completions to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, first dropping the ball over the shoulder of Woolen for a 15-yard completion on a slot fade route and then linking up with the second-year wideout down the seam for a 20-yard completion after feathering the ball over the outstretched hands of Nwosu.

Building off improvements in the past two practices, Howell keeps gaining confidence in Ryan Grubb’s offense by day and executed what would have been the best throw of the day, though it ended up being called back for a sack by Joshua Onujiogu. Stepping up into the pocket, he launched a rocket to the deep post to Easop Winston Jr. in stride, hitting the player right on the hands after he created separation, allowing the receiver to turn upfield for a 65-yard touchdown pass.

Prior to last season, Burns had exclusively been a boundary corner in the NFL, playing a grand total of 42 snaps in the slot in his first five NFL seasons. But he demonstrated unexpected versatility for the Seahawks a year ago, logging 202 snaps inside while producing a pass breakup and allowing no touchdowns in coverage, which may have been the difference for him winning a roster spot.

Fast forwarding to the present, Burns has once again been a pleasant surprise on the practice field, earning the trust of Macdonald and a new defensive coaching staff in the process. Earlier in camp, he intercepted Howell after peeling off of his receiver to snag an underthrown pass at full extension and also produced several pass breakups in the first five practices while mostly playing outside.

On Tuesday, Burns put another feather in his cap as he competes in a deep, crowded cornerback room, receiving extensive snaps in the nickel cornerback spot with Witherspoon and Woolen playing on the outside. Taking advantage of his opportunity, he swatted away a potential touchdown in the end zone from Smith-Njigba, helping the first-team defense keep the offense out of the end zone with three straight incompletions forced.

“There’s a poise about him, a cleanliness to how he’s playing, he’s very smooth,” Macdonald commented. “He’s taken strides from the spring, so we’re excited about Artie. He’s right in the mix and we’ll see how it shakes out.”

As a boundary-only defender, Burns would likely be facing an uphill battle to make Seattle’s roster. But his added positional flexibility has opened the door for him not only to win a spot, but as evidenced on Tuesday, potentially vie for snaps on defense when Witherspoon isn’t playing inside, creating another intriguing storyline to watch in the secondary.

For most of his rookie season, Hall struggled to consistently pitch in as a contributor for Seattle’s edge rush rotation, particularly as a pass rusher. Aside from failing to produce a single sack, per Pro Football Focus, he only generated 11 pressures and four quarterback hits on 137 pass rushing reps, and he also was docked significantly as a run defender with a dreadful 32.7 grade.

But of Seattle’s second-year players returning, no player has taken the leap forward so far that Hall has, as he looks like a different player in Macdonald’s scheme. Resembling the disruptor who earned back-to-back All-SEC selections at Auburn, he has been a frequent visitor in the backfield as both a rusher and run defender since camp opened, winning with physicality shedding blocks as well as a quick first step to beat opponents as a penetrator.

In Tuesday’s practice, Hall flashed on several snaps during the team session, collapsing the pocket quickly on two different occasions with a powerful bull rush. His best play came against the run, however, as he threw jarring hands off the snap to knock back the opposing tackle before crashing inside to devour Walker for a one-yard loss.

Taking notice of his teammate’s growth, Nwosu raved about Hall’s development, citing his focus and leadership as the two areas where he has improved the most this offseason.

“He’s hungry, he’s ready to go out there and prove what he can do,” Nwosu said. “From the offseason training he’s put in to now, you can see it out there, he’s more committed than ever. Last year being a rookie for him, he was just going with the flow, listening, and taking the coaching. But now he’s taking the next step leading, teaching the younger guys how it is done, and impressing these coaches more and more.”

Aside from Tomlinson, Leonard Williams also enjoyed a veteran rest day and didn’t practice. After banging his elbow during Monday’s session, defensive tackle Mike Morris also didn’t participate, though Macdonald didn’t sound concerned that he will miss much time. Veteran Dre’Mont Jones missed his third straight practice with a hamstring injury and his status remains uncertain for Wednesday, while rookie cornerback D.J. James returned to practice after sitting out four straight days.